2025 Grand Highlander or 2025 Honda Pilot?

We currently own a 2023 Nissan Pathfinder SL 4WD that checks every box for us. However, we've had many fixes performed, many rentals had, and I just don't trust this car anymore. Nissan should have never let this one out of the factory. The straw that broke the camels back was when my wife took it to have to oil change done earlier this year, drove 4-5 miles away from the dealership, and the car completely shut off when she tried to speed up on the on-ramp. So thankful that she was safe. Turns out that when the air filter was inspected and put back in, the Mass Airflow Sensor "got some debris on it" and it stopped working, telling the engine to shut off. I'm convinced that there is also a deep electrical issue going on (radio issues, sensor issues, and on our 3rd battery btw). So after dealing with Nissan Consumer Affairs/BBB Autoline for a few months, it's time to get something else.

Here are our needs:

• Comfortability and plenty of room for 2 Adults and 1 tall teenager daily, sometimes other adults and/or teens. A couple of road trips during the year. We prefer Captain's Chairs over bench seating in the 2nd row.
• Smooth ride, quiet cabin.
• We like the tech amenities. Heated seats, heated steering wheel, 360 cameras, safety sensors, Apple CarPlay are a must.
• 99% of the time, we keep the 3rd row down for the massive cargo area. We haul topsoil bags, antiques, furniture, wood, etc, basically using it like a truck sometimes. Again, it's nice to flip up the 3rd row when it's needed.
• We use the towing hitch from time to time. Typically, we use a cargo carrier on trips and will eventually be hooking up a small trailer in the future for larger things.
• 4WD/AWD is a must. We don't do offroading or live in the mountains but we do have many hills, so it's a peace of mind for when winter hits.

I've been doing some research over the last 1-2 months on a similar SUV to the Pathfinder, and we're not completely sold on anything.

Honda Pilot - Black Edition

This is our current #1 choice due to that it has a V6, decent amenities, blacked out styling, and it's a Honda. The interior isn't our favorite due to functionality (no pass through storage under console, removable middle 2nd row seat is weird, odd cup holders for larger water bottles, no armrests on 2nd row chairs) but we could make do.

We've owned multiple Hondas and feel like we can trust them; we know what we're getting, even though it's a little "boring". Although, we've also owned Nissan before and trusted them too, so there's that.

The wife does like the Black Edition styling. We were able to test drive one a few weeks ago, the ride was "good", but overall, it wasn't "exciting".

Toyota Grand Highlander - Limited Gas/Hybrid

I got really lucky this last month with our local Toyota dealership in that I have been able to see 3 configurations of the GH, and even test drive one of them that wasn't sold. The interior on the GH is our favorite, but the wife does not like how it looks on the outside. She likes a more "boxy", rugged look like what the Pathfinder has. If we were to pick this, we would have to get the black wheels and cross over roof rail bars to make it look "better".

The main issue I have is that it has a 4-cyl with turbo. Yes, the hybrid engine does not have a turbo but I'm not sure if we are ready for a hybrid; I've never owned one. If we are going to be hauling some heavier stuff, I'm almost afraid that I would be straining the engine too hard and could cause problems. I've even read about turbos wearing out, but ya know, you never know what to believe on the Internet anymore. I don't hear about or see any GH with a tow hitch hauling small trailers either ....

Hyundai Palisade/Kia Telluride

We test drove the Palisade, both the Calligraphy and Night editions last week. 2025s are on the way out, the base Calligraphy is "ok" and the Night Edition is "ugly". We like that it has a V6 and that the ride is smooth. However, we both have a "meh" approach to the looks of the exterior, and we don't have any experience with Hyundai. Warranty is great and all, but even if the warranty covers everything, having it in the shop all the time sucks. Trust me, we know what that feels like with the Pathfinder.

We also test drove the new Santa Fe but the second row was a little small and we would lose 4-5 inches of cargo space.

I haven't test driven a Telluride, but it does look good on paper. V6, decent styling, all the tech things, etc. My wife doesn't care for them and then there's the whole warranty, service, reputation, etc. Still debating on test driving one anyway next week.

Everything Else

Everything else in this class just hasn't really caught our attention. Either they are the same cookie cutter 4-cyl w/Turbo pulling a huge vehicle (Chevy Traverse/GMC Acadia), old infotainment system that just looks weird (Subaru Ascent), weird exterior/interior styling, or is just out of our price range.

Reading this back to myself, it sounds like we are very picky . . . well, we are in a way. We just know what we like and apparently it's hard to find something that checks all the boxes.

Are we missing anything? Are there any other options for what we are looking at? Is the Honda Pilot a better fit compared to the Grand Highlander?